Buffalo railroads unite here.
ALden. — A viUage of Erie county, comprising 30
dwellings, 1 church, and about 250 inhabitants.
Lancaster. — A village of Erie county, containing
about 100 buildings, including 4 churches, 1 grist and
2 saw mills, and 600 inhabitants.
BUFFALO.
The capital of Erie county and a port of entry,
is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Erie, at
the mouth of Buffalo creek : population, by census
of 1840, 18,213. This city is admirably situated on
an elevated plain, and being almost wholly of mo-
dern date, is much more regularly laid out and hand-
somely built than most of the other interior towns.
Buffalo, then a mere village, was burnt by the British
during the late war ; but has risen with augmented
splendor from its ashes.
The streets, which are mostly wide and furnished
with side walks, some of them being, in the splendor
of their stores and their elaborately painted signs,
nowise inferior lo those of the Metropolis. The growth
of Buffalo within the last few years has been most
rapid. Along the lake side, which, prior to 1810, was
little else than a sandy flat, now extends a succession
of handsome buildings, which, with the shipping and
the activity every where displayed, present the ap-
pearance of a large commercial city. The public
buildings consist of a court house and jail, 16 church,
es, 2 banks, theatre, mills, and a vast number of
factories, common^o places of this description. The
ALBANY TO NIAGARA FALLS. 69
Kwst important of these are, 3 for carriages, 14 for
malt liquors, 5 fur soap and candies, 4 for tobacco,
S for ironmongery, 2 for chemicals, and 8 printing
houses. A pier, 1,500 feet in length, extends into
the lake from the bank, below the mouth of BuiFalo
creek. Though now of such importance, little more
ihan fifteen years have elapsed since Bufialo was cor-
rectly described by Darby as "a village containing
i,000 inhabitants." The progress of the town in the in-
terval in commerce and in the accumulation of wealth
and population, is unprecedented in. the history of
settlement. Th« situation of Buffalo necessarily ren-
ders it a principal seat of the trade between the east,
ern cities and the western and north- v/estern states,
and as the population and trade of those states in-
creased, it could not fail proportionally to augment
She trade of Buffalo.
There ar« now (1843) upwards of 75 steam-boats
and about 350 sailing vessels employed in the lake
trade, much the larger portion of which centres in Buf-
falo. 4,061 vessels of every sort were entered or clear-
ed at the custom-house in 1840. The amount of mer-
chandise sent eastward on the canal in 1826, was
5,131 tons; in 1840, 177,606 tons. Should the popu-
lation of Buffalo continue to increase in the same ratio
as it has done for the last 12 or 15 years, of which
there is no reason to doubt, it will contain, 30 years
hence, a population of nearly 200,000.
Black, ock, 2 miles north from Buffalo, on the Erie
canal, is a large incorporated village, containing near-
\y 2.000 inhabitants, with extensive and various fac-
tories, and mercantile establishments. The great
pier, built at the expense of the state, deserves atten-
tion.
Tonawanda. — A village of Erie county, contain-
ing 700 inhabitants, situated on Grand Island sound,
at the discharge of Tonawanda creek. The Eric canal
and the Buffalo and Niagara falls railroad pasg
through the village.
70 ROUTE FROM
Fort Scklosser. — Built by the British during the
old French war, stands in front of the rapids, about
a mile above the falls. Here the steamer Caroline
was destroyed by a detachment of British troops a
few years since, from which the well known McLeod
affair took its rise.
Niagara Falls. — A magnificent cataract in that
portion of the river St. Lawrence which extends be-
tvveen lakes Erie and Ontario, commonly called "Ni-
agara river." This river issues from the N. E. ex-
tremity of Lake Erie, near Buffalo, and runs north,
ward 20 miles to Goat or Iris island, where it is preci.
pitated over a limestone ledge into a deep and narrow
chasm, whence it proceeds, with a constantly decreas-
ing velocity, a farther distance of 15 miles, and enters
Lake Ontario, between the villages of Niagara and
Youngstown. In this course of 35 miles the river
descends 334 feet, this being the difference of level
between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. •
Goat Island, at the very verge of the cataract, di-
vides it into two sheets of water ; one of these, called
the Horse-shoe, on the Canada side, is 1,800 feet
wide, and 158 feet in perpendicular height; and
the other, called the American Falls, is about 600
in width, and 164 in height. The breadth of the is-
land is about 1,500 feet. The rock over which the
v/ater is percipitated, consists of a compact hmestone
in nearly horizontal strata, resting upon a mass of
soft shale, which decays and crumbles away more
rapidly th^n the former; so that the calcareous rock
forms an over-hanging mass, projecting 40 feet or
more beyond the concave rock below.
By the continual destruction of the rocks, owing
to the eddies and spray rushing against them, the
falls have, within the last 50 years, receded upwards
of 150 feet ; and this process has unquestionably been
going on for countless ages. There seems to be no
reasonable ground for doubting that the falls were
pnce at Queenstown, 7 miles below their present po-
ALBANY TO NIAGARA FALLS. 71
sition. Such being the case, the falls must be des-
tined, in process of time, to invade Lake Erie itself,
which would then be completely drained, and its
present bed thus converted into fertile fields and cul.
livated gardens.
The depth of the water is much greater on the
Canadian, than on the American side; and hence,
while the scarcely hidden rocks below the American
fall cause the flood to be broken into foam, the deep
green hue of the other, is but slightly changed by the
crests rising above it.
The finest view of the falls, perhaps, is from the
Table rock on the Canadian shore, and from the b nks
above, whence the rapids may be embraced : the lat.
ter, however, are best seen from Goat Island, to
which access is had by means of a bridge from the
American side. On the north side of Goat Island,
the rocks projecting into the river immediately over
the falls are reached by another wooden bridge, be-
low which the water rushes with frightful velocity.
From these I'ocks, on which an observatory has been
erected, the view over the precipice is at once ter.
rific and grand.
As the banks of the ravine below the falls rise to
the height of 20U feet or more, artilicial means are
necessary for effecting a descent to the water's edge.
A spiral staircase has been consirucred on each side,
and another in front of Goat Island, by which one
may descend to a ledge, styled "Termination Rock,"
actually underneath the great fal! : by these means
the falls may be viewed m alnost every possible di-
rection.
Among the principal waterfalls throughout the
world, there are several that exceed in height those
of Niagara: but, with regard to the quantity of water
discharged, in an unbroken mass, there are none that
can be compared to those of Niagara. In these re-
spects they are pre-eminent,
72 ROUTE FROM
The following table exhibits the relative elevationa
of the most remarkable cataracts:
Staubach, Switzerland, 900 feet,
Tequendama, S. America, 800
Velino, Italy, 300
Mont-morenei, Canada east, 246
CaterskiU, Kew York, 210
Niagara, (mean height) IGl
There are several interesting objects in the vicinity
of the falls which deserve attention ; among them may
be mentioned the Burning Spring, near the outlet of
Chippewa creek whirlpool, two miles below the falls j
Sorcerer's cave, just below the falls ; the battle fields
of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane and Queenstown ; Fort
Schlosser, where the steamboat Carohne was des-
troyed ; the remains of Brock's monument, near
Queenstown ; Welland canal in Canada, extending-
from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and the villages of
Chippewa, Manchester Falls, Lewistown, Queens-
town, Whitehaven or Grand Island, Tuscarora and
Seneca Indians — the former near Lewistown, and
the latter 4 miles S. E. from Buffalo.
The vicinity of Niagara has, in some degree, be-
come classic ground. Among the battles of the last
war, between Great Britain and the United States,
there were perhaps none more sanguinar}'', nor the
contest between the combattants so obstinate as those
of Queenstown, October 18th, 1814, in which Gen.
Brock was killed ; of Chippewa, July 5th, 1814, and
of Bridge water.
JRoute from Albany to Buffalo, via Utica and JRo^
Chester, by the Erie canal.
West Troy, 7 Schenectady, ....17 30
Cohoes Falls, .... 3 10 Amsterdam, 17 47
Lower aqueduct . 3 13 Fultonville, 10 57
rX»oM ALBANY TO BUFFALO.
73
Canajoharie,
Fort Plain,
Little Falls
Herkimer, Up.Br,
Frankfort, ....
Vks^.....^...
Whitesboi-0%
Oriskany,
Rome,
New London, ....
Canastota,
New Boston,
Chittenango,
Manlius Centre,.
Lodi,
Syracuse,
Geddes,
Camiilus,
Jordan,
Port Byron
Montezuma..
69
72
96
101
110
114
117
8 12.5
7 132
14 146
4 150
3 153
9 162
8 170
1 171
2 173
6 179
11 190
9 199
6 205
Clyde 11 216
Lyons, 9 225
Newark, 7 232
Port Gibson, 3 235
Palmyra...... 5 240
Fairport, 12 252
Pittsford, 7 259
Rochester,; 10 269
Spencersville, ....12 281
Brockport, 8 289
Holley, 5 294
Hulberton, 4 298
Albion, 6 304
KnowJsville, 7 311
Medina 4 315
Middleport, 6 321
Lockport 12 333
Pendleton, 7 340
Tonawanda, 12 352
Black Rock, 9 361
Buffalo, 2 363
' West Troy. — An incorporated town of Albany
county, situated on the right bank of the Hudson, im-
mediately opposite to the more " ancient Troy" of
Rensselaer county, which will be noticed hereafter.
West Troy is a new town, the great mass of its
buildings having been erected within the last 10 or 15
years. It now contains more than 1,000 buildings,
including 10 churches, 20 extensive manufactories,
a bank, a vast number of warehouses, stores and
workshops, and about 900 dwellings, with a popu-
lation of 5,500. The United Stales Arsenal, an im-
mense establishment, consisting of 33 buildings and
extensive grounds, is situated in West Troj'^, and
forms one of its most conspicuous features. Tha
Hudson is here crossed by a fine bridge and hors^
boats.
7
74 AOUTE FROM
CoTioes Falls.— A beautiful and romantic cataract
of the Mohawk river, situated near its cxtrance into
the Hudson. The principal fall has a descent of about
70 feet, but the entire fall, includini? the rapids above
and below, exceeds 120 feet. A fuic view of the fiills
may be had from the bridge about half a r.iile below.
Lower Aqueduct. — Here the Erie canai crosses
from the south to the north bank of the Mohawk,
which it follows for 6 miles, and then repasses the
river, by the Upper Aqueduct, and resumes its course
along the south or right bank of the stream.
ScheneciadyA
Amsterdam.^
Fultonville. — A village of Montgomery county,con.
taining 70 dv/ellings, a church and about 400 inhab-
itants, chiefly occupied in manufacturing and the
lumber trade. A bridge across the Mohawk connects
it with Fonda on the north.
Canajoharie. — A large and thriving town, situated
on the hne of the Erie canal, containing a population
of 1,400, 3 churches, an academy, r2 floTiring and 2
saw mills, furnace, brewery, &c. A railroad, hence
to Catskill, is in course of execution, a portion of
which, extending from Catskill to Crooksbury, 26
miles, is now in operation.
Fort Plain. — A village of Montgomery county, sit-
uated on the right bank of the Mohawk, containing
1,500 inhabitants. The public buildings are, two
churches, a bank, 3 mills, 1 furnace and 1 distillery.
Little Falls.r
Herkimer upper bridge, extends across the Mo-
hawk to the village of Herkimer, situated on the north.
(See R. R. route from Albany to Bufluilo.)
Frankfort — A village of Herkimer county, situated
on the Erie canal, containing 500 inhabitants, two
churches, a woolen factory, &c.
ALBANY TO BUFFAtO. 75
Utlcn.f
WhiteshoroW
Orislcany. — A larf^e village of Oneida county, com-
prising 2 churches, 2 extensive woolen factories, with
about 1,200 inhabitants.
New London. — A small settlement of about 35
buildings and 200 inhabitants, in Oneida county.
Canastota. — An incorporated village of Madison
county, containing 800 inhabitants, 3 churches, sev-
eral minor factories, &c.
New Boston. — A, small but neat \'illage of Madi-
son county, containing about 150 inhabitants.
Chitfcnango. — A large, handsome and flourishing
town of Madison county, comprising 200 dwellings,
3 churches, a railroad depot, 2 water lime and 1
woolen factory, grist mill, and about 1,100 inhabi-
tants. A valuable medicinal spring, composed, in
part, of sulphates of lime, magnesia and soda, car-
bonate of lime, &c., with sulphuretted hydrogen and
carbonic acid gases, has recently been discovered in
the vicinity of Chittenango.
Manlius Centre. — A village of Onondaga county,
containing a church and 50 other buildings, with
about 300 inhabitants.
Lodi. — A village of Seneca county, of about 60
buildings and 400 inhabitants.
Syracuse. i
Geddes. — An incorporated village of Onondaga
county, with 700 inhabitants, 1 church, «fec. Geddes
is celebrated for its manufacture of salt — sahne
springs having been found in the village.
Camillus.i
Jordan. — An incorporated manufacturing village
of Onondaga'county, containing about 200 buildings,
among which are, 3 churches, 3 grist and 3 saw
miUs, 3 factories, with about 1,300 inhabitants. ;
7f ROUTE FROM
Port Byron. — An incorporated village of Caya^a
county, consisting of 160 dwellings, 3 churches, 1
extensive grist mill, 2 leather factories, 4 saw mills,
&c.
Montezuma. — A thriving village of Cayuga coun-
ty,' si truated at the junction of the Erie canal with the
Cayuga and Seneca canal. It contains about 700
inhabitants, with 1 church, stores, taverns, &c. Im-
niense quantities of salt- are made here from the sa-
line springs, which abound in this section of the
state. The Montezuma marshes, consisting of a
narrow strip of wet land, extend along Cayuga outlet
and Seneca river for a distance of 15 miles.
Clyde. — An incorporated village of Wayne county,
comprising 3 churches, an academy, 4 grist mills, 1
saw mill, 1 furnace, 2 glass factories, and about 150
dwellings. Population about 1,100.
Lyons. — A large incorporated tow-n and seat of
justice of Wayne county, containing nearly 2,000
inhabitants. Its principal buildings are, a court
house, jail, 5 churches, 1 bank, 2 large warehouseSj,
2 grist and 2 saw mills, 1 furnace, and other facto-
ries, which produce leather, potash, machinery, car-
riages. Access to the neighboring towns is had by-
means of stages, railroad cars, canal boats, &c.,
â– which are constantly arriving at and departing from
this active place.
Newark. — A village of Wayne county, containing:
230 buildings and 1,300 inhabitants. Among the
buildings are, 3 churches, 1 steam flouring mill,, 2
furnaces, and some other factories.
Fort Gibson. — A village of 200 inhabitants, with
a church, &c., in Ontario county.
Falmyra. — A large incorporated village of Wayne
county, containing upwards of 2,000 inhabitants, 4
churches, an academy, hotels, stores, &,c , with the
customary proportion of tradesmen's warehouses,
shops, offices, &c. It is delightfully situated in the
centra of a productive agricultural district, and is^
ALBANY TO BUFFALO. 77
altogether, one of the most attractive villages of the
state. Its manufactures are extensive and valuable,
consisting principallj' of flour, iron castings, carriages,
and many other articles.
Fair port. — A village of Monroe county, containing
about 180 inhabitants.
Fittsford. — A village of Monroe county, contain-
ing 700 inhabitants, 2 churches, &c.
Fochester.f
Spencer sville. — A village of Monroe county, con.
taining a church, 50 dwelling^, 2 grist and 2 saw
mills, a carriage factory, a furnace, and about 300
inhabitants.
Broclport. — A pleasant incorporated town of 2,000
inhabitants, situated in Monroe county, containijig 3
churches, an academy, 1 grist and 1 saw mill, a
carding machine, and many similar establishments.
Ilolleij. — A village of Orleans, containing about
300 inhabitants, 2 churches, and 70 dwellings.
Hulberton. — A village of the same county, with a
church and 250 inhabitants.
Albion. — Seat of justice for Orleans county, and
one of the most pleasant villages on the canal, both
in point of situation and plan. It is incorporated, and
has, in addition to the usual county buildings, 2 flour,
isbing seminaries, 2 banks, 3 churches, 8 large ware-
houses for the accommodation of the canal trade, a
grist mill, and several merchants' stores, taverns, &c.
KnowUsville. — A clever little village, 7 miles be-
yond Albion. It is incorporated, and has about 500
inhabitants, 3 churches, and 3 or 4 factories.
Medina. — An incorporated village of Orleans coun-
ty, situated on Oak Orchard creek, where it intersects
the Erie canal. The present number of inhabitants is
about 900, with IGO buildings, including 5 churches,
7 warehouses, 3 grist mills, stores, taverns, ifcc, &c.
Middleport, in Niagara county, is a neat village,
comprising 70 or 80 dwellings, 2 churches, 3 grist
7*
78 ROUTE rnoM
and 2* saw milk, and 6 extensive factories of leather^
iron castings, potash, &c.
Lockport. — Ah incorporated village of the first
class, and seat of justice for Niagara county. With
the exception of Buffalo and Rochester, it is the most
important commercial and manufacturing town in-
western New York, Lockport now numbers up-
wards of 7,000 inhabitants, and nearly 1,000 build-*
ings of every description : included among the latter
are, a court house, jail, 12 churches, 20 hotels, 2
banks, and about 40 extensive factories, which pro-
duce immense quantities of articles ; such as cottoir
and woolen goods, prepared lumber, ground plaster,
machinery, iron castings, and agricultural ir^stru-
xnents of every sort, carriages, leather, bread stuffs,
and many othsr articles. The power employed by
these factories is derived from Lake Erie, through
the medium of the Erie canal ; which, having a de-
stent here of 60 feet, supplies an almost unhmited
amount of hydraulic force. The prodigious excava-
tions through which the canal now p-asses and de-
scends the terrace into the Ontario valley, and ihe
ponderous locks by which the descent is effected,
are every way deserving of careful examination.
This is one of the most costly sections of the canal,
having been cut through compact rock for a great
distance, both horizontally and vertically.
Passengers for the falls leave the canal here, and
proceed by the railroad a distance of 24 miles. Con-
veyance in almost every direction is afforded by the
canal boats, stages, or cars, which leave Lockporfc
daily.
^ Fendleton. — A small settlement of Niagara county,
situated at the junction of the Erie canal and Tona-
wanda creek, containing nearly 200 inhabitants.
There is a sulphur spring about two and a half miles
east from Pendleton, which is becoming a place of
some resort.
Tonawanda. — A village of Erie county, comprising
ALBANY TO BALLSTON, SPA, 6CC. 79
about 150 buildings, including a church, workshops,
&c. The railroad from Buffalo to Niagara passes
through the village, which is one of the stopping
places.
BufaloA
Excursion to Ballston, Spa, Saratoga, and Lake
George,
Schenectady, by railroad, 16
Ballston, Spa, " 14 30
Saratoga Springs, " 7 37
Fortsville, bysiage, 11 4&'
Glenn's Falls, " 6 54"
Caldwell, " 9 63
Ticonderoga, " 37 100
Schenectady. i
Ballston Spa. — The springs of Ballston Spa have
long been celebrated for their medicinal qualities,
and are resorted to by vast numbers of invalids and
others. The waters resemble those of Saratoga,
though not so strongly impregnated with the mineral
ingredients which characterise the latter. They are
chiefly saline and chalybeate, but in various degrees.
Some are exceedingly cold, and strongly charged'
v/ith oxide of iron and carbonic acid gas. Their
medicinal quaht'es are of the cathnrdc and tonic
kind. The chief ingredients of these celebrated
waters consist of chloride of sodium, bicarbonites of
magnesia and soda, carbonate of lime, with slight
traces of carbonate of iron, silex, and alumine.
In addition to about 520 dwellings, there are, in the
village, 4 churches, 1 bank, a court house, jail, and
several excellent hotels and boarding houses, reading
rooms, &LC. Ballston Spa is, in every respect, one
of the most pleasant and salubrious places of resort
ill the county. Here is a railroad to Troy.
80 KOUTE FROM
One of the principal drives from the Spa is to
Bullston LaTte, 5 miles southward, where -equip,
ments for fishing and fowling may be obtamed.
A few miles to the S. E. is Round Lake, another at-
ti-active spot, abounding also with fi^h and fowl.
The waters of these lakes are discharged into the
Hudson by Anthony's Kill.
Saratoga Springs. — The nmst celebrated of these
springs occupy the central part of Saratoga county,
and are about equi-distant from Schenectady and
Glenn's Falls. Every accommodation is atlorded
the visiters by the spacious and elegant hotels which
abound here. The most noted of these are, the
United States, near tlie railroad dep6t ; Congress
Hall, near Congress spring ; Pavilion, near Flat
Rock spring ; Union Hall, opposite Congress Hall ;
Columbian, near the Pavilion; Washington Hall, in
the north end of the village ; American, Adelphi,
J\Iontgomery, and Mansion House. In the eastern
suburbs, Prospect Hall and Highland Hall', to-
gether with some other hotels and extensive board-
ing houses. There are also commodious bathing
houses, circulating library, reading rooms, minera-
logical cabinet, &c., &c.
Among the other buildings are, 6 churches, a rail-
road dep6t, an academy, 2 foundries, printmg offices,
&c , and about 325 dwellings.
The springs of Saratoga, now the resort of thous-
ands of persons in search of health or pleasure, from
almost every part of the world, were discovered long
anterior to the revolutionary war.
Congress. Washington, Putnam, Pavilion, Iodine,
Hamilton, High Rock, and Flat Pock, are the names
by which the principal springs«bre known.
In addition to these are others, called the Ten
sjyrings, which include the Union spring, about
a mile east of the others. The ingredients which
Compose the waters of these springs are nearly the
same in all, differing but slightly in the relative quan-
ALBANY TO SAR/rTOGA. 81
tity of each. Dr. Steel's analysis of one of them,
(Congress spring,) affords a sufficient insight into the
nature and qualities of the entire series.
From 231 cubic inches (one gallon) of the water
we?e obtained —
Grains.
Chloride of sodium, (sea salt,) 385
Hydriodate of soda, 3 5
Bi-carbonate of soda, 8 982
" magnesia 9.5 788
Carbonate of hme, 98 098
" iron, 5 075
Silex, 1 5
Hydro-bromate of potash, a trace.
Total Grains, 597 943
Carbonic acid gas, cubic inches, 311
Atmospheric air, 7
Gaseous contents, 318
Saratoga Lake. — Situated about 5 miles S. E. from
the spring, is much frequented by the lovers of roman-
tic scenery by which this beautiful lake is surrounded.
Its waters abound with several kinds of fish ; aa
perch, pike, pickerel, &.c.; and the variety of wild
fowl and other game which inhabit its borders, afford
ample amusement for the sportsman. The waters of
these springs flow through a small ravine into Owl
lake, thence into Kayaderoseros crSek, a tributary
of Saratoga lake, which has its discharge into the
Hudsos through Fish creek, about 10 miles E. of Sa-
ratoga, on the falls of Fish creek, which are also
much frequented as one of the " lions" of the neigh-
borhood : and a httle further on, near Schuylersville,
is the battle-ground of Saratoga, where the British
army, under General Burgoyne, surrendered to tho
American forces, October 17, 1777.
Fortsville. — A post office of Moreau township.
8^ ROUTE FROM
GlevJs Falls. — A cataract or rather a cascade of the
Hudson, with an entire descent of 70 feet. The rock
is here cut and abraided in the most extraordinary